Cash-strapped Chennai Corporation seeks ₹233 crore from State govt. to clear pending bills

Published 8 August 2026 · local

With over ₹3,400 crore in liabilities burning a hole in the Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) finances, the civic body is turning towards the State government

With over ₹3,400 crore in liabilities burning a hole in the Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) finances, the civic body is turning towards the State government to ease a portion of its pending dues. The GCC has sought about ₹233 crore in financial assistance under the Ways and Means Advance (a short-term cash-flow support) from the Tamil Nadu government. It has also asked the State to release two quarters’ stamp duty surcharge in advance. The Corporation is also reviewing expenditures across all its departments to rationalise and reduce spending. The GCC’s current total bill liability for 2026-27 stands at ₹3,434.72 crore, Commissioner G.S. Sameeran said. According to a document shared by GCC, the liability comprises pending bills totalling ₹1,929.72 crore as of July 29, 2026, and anticipated bills totalling ₹1,505 crore for the current financial year. The Corporation’s finances have come under pressure as expenditure has grown faster than revenue over the past few years due to expansion of civic infrastructure, higher operation and maintenance costs, and execution of capital projects using its own funds, the document said.

Financial Situation GCC’s revenue receipts increased from ₹3,747 crore in 2022-23 to ₹5,214 crore in 2025-26 — a difference of ₹1,467 crore. However, the expenditure rose from ₹3,581 crore to ₹5,676 crore — ₹2,095 crore — during the same period. The GCC, which recorded revenue surplus of ₹166 crore in FY 2022-23 and ₹728 crore in FY 2023-24, posted a revenue deficit of ₹73 crore in FY 2024-25, the document noted. This deficit widened to ₹463 crore in 2025-26. Its overall deficit after principal repayment also increased from ₹375 crore in 2022-23 to ₹1,970 crore in 2025-26 - a ₹1,595 crore increase in a year. The Corporation relied on transfers from its Revenue Account to the Capital Account to fund capital works. Such transfers rose from ₹303 crore in 2022-23 to ₹937 crore in 2025-26, while capital grants from the State government declined from ₹1,941 crore to ₹521 crore during the period, according to GCC.

“While GCC has been able to maintain relatively stable revenue collections, expenditure growth has consistently outpaced revenue growth, over the last few years. This widening gap is mainly due to the expansion of civic infrastructure, increased operation and maintenance commitments and taking up large number of projects with the GCC’s own funds. The Buildings and Roads Department accounts for the largest share of the pending liabilities,” according to the civic body. Way forward “Daily review of cash position and important payments to be made is reviewed by the Commissioner. For the medium term, GCC is also undertaking strategic revenue augmentation reforms such as assessing under-assessed properties (property tax), data mapping to identify tax leakages, asset monetisation, etc.,” the document said. The GCC has revised the property tax demand for under-assessed commercial properties identified through its ongoing GIS mapping exercise after field inspections.